


Chosen

by FluffyDestroyerofSouls (BenlosLittleSandRat)



Category: The Inheritance Cycle - Christopher Paolini
Genre: Adventure, Adventure & Romance, Arranged Marriage, Birthday, Developing Friendships, Developing Relationship, F/M, Forced Marriage, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Gen, Male-Female Friendship, Pre-Canon, Pre-Relationship, Relationship(s), Romantic Friendship, Teacher-Student Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-24
Updated: 2018-01-24
Packaged: 2019-03-08 21:06:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13466547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BenlosLittleSandRat/pseuds/FluffyDestroyerofSouls
Summary: Kenna's already broken family gets torn apart when the high priest at the Cathedral in Urû'baen chooses the rebel town of Cantos as the home of Murtagh's future wife, under the order of King Galbatorix. MurtaghxOC AND (eventually) MurtaghxNasuada. Rating may change as the story progresses.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, guys! This is something I posted on my Fanfiction.net account. I decided to upload it here to give me a reason to continue writing it once I graduate in May. As in the description, this is a pre- canon story heavy in OCs. It's going to lead up to Murtagh's escape with Tornac and eventually hop skip and jump until it reaches post- canon.

 

**Urû'baen, midnight**

 

The Cathedral of the Gods was cloaked in an ominous silence. A man draped in a golden robe stood before a sacrificial altar, which had been covered in sand. Four additional figures flanked him on either side each carrying vials of various sizes. In the sand, a map of the kingdom had been drawn from memory.

 

Tonight was the night of the king had sent word to the head priest years ago; he was planning on giving young Lord Murtagh the position of the King's Hand the day he turned eighteen. If he was to accept, he would take his late father's place at Galbatorix's side and officially be recognized as a member of the currently nonexistent royal family. In order to sway his opinion, the king decided that he would also present him with a myriad of eligible brides that night at a banquet to be held in his honor. That day was now 9 months away, and ancient tradition dictated that all women who were to marry into the royal family be chosen from a town picked directly by the gods.

 

The head priest placed a gilded bowl upon the table. One of the priests at his side handed him a long, black blade. He unsheathed it slowly, chanting a prayer in the Ancient Language. The other four men quietly joined in as he placed his arm over the bowl and drew the blade across it. Blood flowed into the bowl, yet the man continued to chant , unfazed by the pain. After a minute had gone by, he placed the blade upon the altar and brushed three of his fingers across the gash on his arm. The wound quickly healed itself. He continued to chant as the four priests began pouring the contents of their vials into the bowl. Fire erupted from the bowl as the final vial was poured. The head priest picked up the flaming bowl and quickly poured its contents onto the sand. In seconds, flames covered the table. The sand began to melt, and the head priest threw his arms into the air, shouting an ancient prayer which rang through the massive cathedral. He then crossed his arms over his chest, and the flames extinguished themselves immediately. On the altar, all of the sand had turned to a clear pane of glass, with the exception of one small spot. The head priest's brow furrowed, perplexed. The other priests looked at him anxiously, wordlessly asking him what city resided in the small, unmarked pile of sand.

 

One of the large cathedral doors opened with a loud, reluctant groan. The men at the altar looked up. A line of moonlight flowed into the building, bathing the altar in a silver glow. The tall silhouette of a man entered the cathedral, walking toward the altar with long, confident strides, his red eyes glowing venomously as they stared directly at the head priest, who clenched his jaw.

 

"To where must I ride, oh Wise one?" the man asked with a sly, somewhat mocking grin, quickly flashing a set of white, pointed teeth.

 

"The gods have just spoken, Durza."

 

" I am aware, old man," The red haired shade barked back, without any attempts to hide his annoyance," What city have they chosen?"

 

The old man cleared his throat. "Cantos."

 

The shade blinked, his look of annoyance immediately turning into one of disgust.

 

"That traitor- filled slum?!" he shouted, voice ringing. " The halfbreed vermin that live there are barely fit to be considered citizens of Alagaësia, let alone marry into nobility. I refuse to allow it?"

 

The head priest, fearful of the wrath of the angered shade, nodded and replied, " It is the decision of the gods, my Lord. They have spoken, and we must honor their wish. The king himself ordered that I ask the gods to choose the city where Lord Murtagh's bride resides years ago, and I have done such every day since in preparation for this day of Choosing."

 

The shade snarled angrily, "Surely Galbatorix would scoff at the mere idea of-"

 

"Who are we to go against the wishes of the gods! They see and know all. The king has been troubled by the treacherous radicals that have been hiding in the town. Perhaps having a woman from their town living in the palace halls would be just what the king needs to quench the flames of rebellion that have consumed the town."

 

The shade thought about the head priest's words. The city that is selected by the Choosing is required by law to send all girls that are of age and eligible for courtship to Urû' baen for... polishing and tutoring in the ways of court life. The girls' lives could easily be dangled above the heads of the citizens of Cantos- the mere whispers of a rebellion and he could easily have them all killed. A handful of them would be hostages in the capitol for the rest of their lives, as it is customary to have the best students stay behind and act as the chosen girl's ladies in waiting. It was the perfect situation for the king. His lips curled into a terrifying smile at the thought.

 

"Praise be unto the gods, then."

 

Durza nodded to the priest, who bowed to him as he turned and left the cathedral. An army of fifty soldiers on horseback awaited him in the courtyard. He mounted a large, black stallion and rode south towards Cantos.

 

 


	2. Dots on the Horizon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kenna and her cousin Mabel are on sentry duty when Kenna sees something heading straight for the town.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! To those who have come this far thank you!!!
> 
> This chapter is a little long because it's setting up some of our main characters. According to my previous authors note I wrote this on the plane to Maui after consuming a few screwdrivers so... This might need some proofreading. But it is currently 1 am and I am sick and have to wake up early so that will have to wait for the weekend.

 

 Kenna looked around at the pandemonium surrounding her. The town was on fire , the flames burning brightly, creating so much light it was hard to believe that it was the middle of the night. Men, Women, and children alike were screaming and running through the streets as thick smoke poured out of houses and shops alike. She had been pulled from her bed and into the street by her mother just before their house had been set ablaze by something big and red. Her eyes were still filled with fog, so she wasn't able to make out exactly what it was. Her mother had left her in the care of her older cousin Mabel. He had come to Kenna's house for help after his father was struck by a fallen beam. That had been what felt like hours ago, and Mabel seemed worried. Kenna searched frantically for the familiar faces of her mother and father in the crowd, tears flowing from her eyes.

 

"Mama! Papa!" She screamed into the crowd as she clutched the hem of her nightgown nervously. Her cries went unnoticed by everyone other than Mabel, who grabbed her arm and pulled her toward the forest.

 

"We need to go now, Kenna! Your parents can find us in the forest with the others."

 

"No!" Kenna screamed, trying to push her cousin away.

 

A deep roar pierced through the night. Mabel looked up at the sky, eyes wide with terror. Kenna turned, following Mabel's gaze.

 

A large, red dragon soared through the sky, fire billowing out of it's mouth as it dove toward the town. Kenna froze with fear. Mabel grabbed her and sprinted towards the forest. Kenna looked over his shoulder as the dragon quickly approached, the heat from its fire burning her skin. She and Mabel screamed as they were engulfed in orange and blue flames.

 

Kenna sat upright in bed,sweat and tears streaming down her face. Her hair was drenched in sweat, and her nightgown clung to her body like a damp rag. Mabel looked over at her from across the room, a worried expression on his face.

 

"The nightmares are happening again?" He whispered as he got out of bed and walked over to her. Kenna let her feet hang off the bed as she pushed her wool blanket off of her body. She nodded wordlessly as she caught her breath, leaning against her cousin.

 

" I thought that herbalist in Dras- Leona said that it would end with that sleeping potion?"

 

Kenna shrugged, groaning as she stood up to fetch a pitcher of water from the kitchen downstairs. Mabel got up and followed her down the narrow flight of stairs which led to their tavern. Kenna poured herself a glass of water from a pitcher on the counter. She drank the whole thing in a few large, frantic gulps. She slammed the cup onto the table and looked over at her cousin, panting but feeling quenched. Her throat no longer dry, she replied to Mabel's comment from earlier as she pushed herself up on the counter, sitting on it.

 

"I don't know. I guess this is more than just a recurring nightmare."

 

Mabel crossed his arms and leaned against the opposite counter, raising an eyebrow at her in confusion.

 

"What's that supposed to mean?"

 

" I don't know!" Kenna replied, throwing out her arms. " I've heard villagers talk about how people who experience battle before they are ready to often have recurring flashbacks of what happened... Maybe it's something like that?"

 

"Well I was right there with you when our parents died. I don't get nightmares."

 

"You were eight! I was three years old. I'd say I wasn't exactly ready for what had happened to us. Besides, you used to get them when we first came to Cantos, remember?"

 

Mabel looked at the floor, not wanting to talk about the death of their parents before the sun rose. He pushed off from the counter and walked towards the stairs.

 

"Come on, Kenna, the sun is about to rise. It's time for us to go meet up with Bjorn."

 

Kenna nodded and followed him back upstairs to get ready, pushing what had happened from her mind. She had been having the same recurring nightmare of the night their parents had died for years. It was the first and only childhood memory she could vividly picture in her mind, which saddened her.

 

Kenna and Mabel had been living in a small village near Belatona when it was attacked by a member of the forsworn known as Morzan. Mabel had managed to drag her from the main road to the safety of a forest, and had watched as their town was burnt to the ground. Neither of them ever learned why Morzan and his dragon attacked their village.

 

A slaver named Torkenbrand captured the worn out cousins a day or so later, along with the few other survivors. He took them across Leona Lake to Dras- Leona to be sold at auction. They would have been torn apart if they weren't freed in the middle of the night by a man from Cantos named Bjorn. He brought them to the small city of Cantos and cared for them as if they were his own children.

 

Many of the two hundred or so people who lived in the old, worn out town were people who had been saved by a group of men who wished to put an end to slavery known as the Chain Breakers. Bjorn's reason for joining this group was more personal than that of most of the men, who wished to put an end to the Empire as a whole. Bjorn's wife Lola was kidnapped from their home while Bjorn had been out hunting. She had been pregnant at the time. Bjorn swore to find and free her. Two years after his vow, he discovered that she had died in childbirth. Devastated, Bjorn moved to Cantos and helped found the Chain Breakers.

 

Since slavers frequently preyed on people who attempted to travel across the Hadarac Desert, which Cantos was on the outskirts of, the whole town would frequently work together to save any tired or lost travelers before they were captured by Torkenbrand's men. Between the frequent presence of slavers and the recent, threatening presence of Urgals in the area, the people of Cantos built a watchtower at the end of the main road, facing the Hadarac Desert. It was constantly staffed with up to four villagers. Everyone who lived in the village over the age of twelve was required to take shifts at the Tower.

 

This was the job that Kenna and Mabel now held. They would meet up with Bjorn at the village watch tower every day and take his place as watchmen, which was typically before dawn. There, they kept an eye out for travelers, and signaled for men to go out and rescue anyone that appeared to be in danger.

 

Kenna put her thin, blonde hair in a braid before grabbing her hat and a wineskin and running out the door after Mabel. Their tavern was located on the other end of town. They were supposed to arrive at the Tower before the sky became lighter, but they never seemed to be able to arrive on time.

 

They arrived as Bjorn was crawling down the ladder. He turned to them and huffed annoyedly.

 

"You children are always on time for being late, aren't you?" He barked, patting Mabel on the back as he grabbed onto the ladder.

 

"We learned from the best, didn't we,old man?" Mabel said with a smirk, then shot up the ladder before Bjorn could smack the back of his head. Bjorn turned to look at Kenna, who grinned raised her hands over her head as if she refused to claim sides in the quarrel. Bjorn pushed her toward the ladder as she chuckled at the stout old man's reddened face.

 

" I'll be home around noon to prepare for trading day, Pops!" Kenna shouted back to him as he walked away. He half- turned around as he walked and gave her a thumbs up.

 

Trading day happens once every season in the remote town of Cantos. A caravan of traders who sell their goods across the country stop to rest in their town before making the long journey along the edge of the Hadarac Desert down to Surda. It was the only time many of the villagers could trade their goods to people outside of Cantos, apart from making the long and often dangerous two day journey to the city of Dras- Leona. Many people in the town were too nervous to travel there, and many of the large cities wealthier residents refused to trade with citizens of Cantos, with its history of harboring fugitive slaves and siding with the Varden.

 

Kenna, Mabel, and Bjorn were three of only a handful of residents willing to go to Dras- Leona. Bjorn had become accustomed to the journey in his many years of freeing victims of the slave trade. Mabel and Kenna, on the other hand, actually preferred to trade with the lower class, who didn't really care where they lived. Unlike most of the artisans of Cantos, who specialized in creating expensive pottery or weaving fine tapestries, they made a simple living by running a small tavern in town and selling a special ale Mabel brewed from a recipe his father had taught him a few months before the attack. Their ale was unlike the bitter, burning liquid that most men typically drank. It was spiced in a way that made it sweet and refreshing, and it ruined Kenna's taste for any other ale long ago, along with most of their loyal customers. The ale had actually become fairly popular in Dras- Leona and Surda's capitol city of Aberon, so it was important that they have plenty of barrels to sell to the caravan traders, who would then sell it to the citizens of Surda.

 

Mabel had prepared twenty giant batches of ale in preparation for today's trading day. It was Kenna's job to seal the barrels and brand them with their family crest, as well as haggle with traders over prices. While Mabel and Bjorn would accompany her on their trips to Dras- Leona, they refused to participate in the actual trading, since Kenna had quickly developed a talent for bartering. They were going to need her help in order to get as much money as they could for their ale, since this band of traders drove a particularly hard bargain.

 

When Kenna reached the top of the watch tower, Mabel was looking down at a slumped over figure and chuckling. Kenna pulled herself up onto the deck and took in the scene. Calitha, the local potter's daughter, had fallen asleep in the time it had taken the three night guards to climb down the ladder. Her curly, auburn hair covered her freckled face like a pile of wool, and she was snoring loudy, which caused Mabel to laugh even harder. Kenna rolled her eyes at him, then gently nudged Calitha with her boot. She awoke with a jerk and squinted up Kenna. It took her a moment to recognize her, but once she did she groaned and rolled over.

 

" Ugh, Kenna, let me sleep please. Father had me tending to the kiln every night this week so that our pottery would be ready to trade today. I'm exhausted."

 

"Oh, alright, Cal."Kenna chuckled, then added," Once the sun is in the sky you have to help us with the watch, though. "

 

Calitha grumbled an unenthusiastic agreement as she fell back to sleep, using an old cloak as a pillow. Kenna and Mabel sat in silence until the sun finished rising.

 

"Wait... don't you have, like, five brothers? " Mabel asked suddenly, breaking the silence. "Why doesn't your father have one of them watch the kiln?"

 

Calitha rolled back over and sat up, wiping the sleep from her eyes as she looked over at Mabel, who was lounging in a chair across from her.

 

"I have four brothers, but father is planning on sending them across the desert to the Beor Mountains in the winter. He wants them to enlist in the Varden's army, so rather than teach them how to throw clay on a wheel, he's been paying a tutor to teach them how to fight," She opened a sack that was at her side and pulled out a loaf of bread. She pulled two pieces off of the loaf and handed them to Kenna and Mabel. Mabel's face perked up at mention of the Varden's army. He had been asking Bjorn to allow him to go off in search for the Varden since he was thirteen, but Bjorn always told him it was impossible to find them.

 

" But how does your father expect them to be accepted into the Varden's ranks? They're a very secretive, exclusive people." Mabel asked.

 

"My uncle joined their ranks after a large group of Varden sought refuge in Cantos before I was born. Father had wanted to accompany him, but his crippled foot prevented the Varden from accepting him into their ranks. Uncle came to town with a small group of disguised Varden traders last summer, and agreed to take my brothers back with him this winter." Calitha voice made her worry very apparent to Kenna. It was obvious the poor girl didn't want to talk about her brothers any longer, but Mabel was so obsessed with the topic at hand he didn't notice.

 

"Do you think I could talk to them in the winter as well? I have always wanted to join the Varden since Galbatorix's henchman killed my family."

 

Calitha hesitated, unsure of how to respond. Kenna and Calitha were very close, and as a result, she had known for quite some time that Cal was quite fond of her older cousin. She had always hoped Mabel would grow up and ask Cal for her hand in marriage already, since she also knew that Mabel had similar feelings for her. She knew how devastated the poor girl would be if Mabel left for the Varden as well, leaving her in Cantos with her father. Kenna glared at Mabel, trying to nonverbally tell him to change the subject. It didn't work, so she spoke up.

 

"Mabel, you know Bjorn wants you to stay here in Cantos with us. We need you to help us earn enough money to survive. Cal is so talented, she's all the help her father will ever need!" Calitha blushed at the compliment, and turned her face away from Mabel. Kenna continued, "I'm only good at negotiating with traders, and I can't do that if I have no ale to trade!"

 

The agitated tone in her voice caused Mabel to roll his eyes and open his mouth to retort, but Kenna gave him one last glare, then quickly looked over at Calitha. Mabel noticed her frown, which caused him to drop the subject. He stared off into the desert. Calitha looked off toward her father's kiln, obviously uncomfortable with the sudden silence.

 

" I need to go and uhh... add some wood to the kiln. I'll be back in a few minutes." Kenna nodded to her in understanding as she started to make her way down the ladder. Mabel waited until Calitha had crawled down the ladder before he looked over at Kenna.

 

" You know that's not true, Kenna."

 

Kenna looked at him, confused.

 

" I don't know what you're-"

 

"The trading. You don't need my ale to make our family enough money to survive. You're such a good negotiator you could get nobles to trade you fifty gold for a pile of dirt," He said with a chuckle. Kenna scoffed at him.

 

"Yeah right... If I were to sell a nobleman dirt, I would charge him no less than a hundred gold pieces and his first born son," she said flatly, then looked over at Mabel and chuckled, grinning.

 

" I'm sure any of the people in town would pay you well to take their goods to Dras- Leona for them. And last week when we were there, you sent that brute soldier packing on you're own! I didn't even know you knew how to draw a dagger that quickly! Who would have thought that clumsy Kenna would be such a natural with a blade?!" Mabel exclaimed, smiling at her.

 

Kenna grinned. She recently caught a drunken, handsy soldier off guard while she was trading in Dras Leona. He had grabbed at her waist, but before he could lay a finger on her she quickly drew a knife on him and held it to his throat. He had obviously not anticipated her fighting back, and in his drunken stupor, he lost his balance and fell dramatically into the street behind him. Those who witnessed his fall laughed, and the young man quickly got up and staggered away, his pride slightly wounded. Mabel had been running down the street, ready to defend her, and witnessed the whole event. He'd been raving about that ordeal since the moment it happened, and all of Cantos, as well as several taverns in Dras- Leona, quickly learned about Kenna's "great soldier standoff."

 

Kenna's new ability to wield a blade wasn't quite as much natural talent as Mabel believed, though. While she was always ready to stick up for herself, she knew that her short stature and weak build weren't very menacing to any soldier or robber that came up to her booth in Dras- Leona. It was obvious to any trained fighter that she wasn't much of a real threat, but more like a masked owl, puffing out her chest or deepening her voice in an effort to make herself appear menacing. She had always felt safer knowing that Mabel or Bjorn was within earshot of all transactions, ready to approach if a deal turned sour.

 

There were many times growing up that Mabel wished she could afford to be tutored like so many of the young children in Cantos were, including Calitha's brothers. She had longed to properly learn basics of self defense. Bjorn had armed her with a dagger at a young age, but she felt it was a useless tool if she had no idea how to use it. Until recently, she had always felt somewhat defenseless on her own. Many of the girls in Cantos knew how to defend themselves, but she constantly found herself being a weak, clumsy girl that needed saving from herself and others. It left her feeling embarrassed and disgusted with herself.

 

That had changed about 6 weeks ago, when Kenna turned 17, making her old enough to take an occasional night shift with the watch. She loved taking shifts with one person in particular: a thirty year old woman named Ansel. Ansel had been more than happy to teach Kenna how to properly hold and even throw a dagger. The last night they were on duty together, Ansel had brought a bow with her, and taught Kenna how to properly hold and shoot with it. Kenna's self confidence when it came to defending herself had risen exponentially, and it hadn't gone unnoticed by her cousin.

 

Kenna, entangled in her own thoughts, was startled when Mabel grabbed her shoulder. He was standing behind her, staring off toward the Northeast. His expression was cold, and his jaw clenched.

 

"What is it?" Kenna asked, standing. He simply pointed at the horizon, where a small cloud of dust was rising. Kenna squinted, trying to see what was approaching. Calitha joined them again. She followed their gaze, and also noticed the cloud of dust.

 

"Is that the trading caravan already?" Calitha asked, "they aren't supposed to be here until mid afternoon."

 

"They're moving far too quickly to be any sort of caravan," Mabel replied. Kenna saw a large dot form in the cloud of dust. As it approached, it broke up into several dozen, smaller dots. She tried to think of what cities were Northeast of Cantos. She could think of only one, and it caused a knot formed in her stomach.

 

"Whoever they are, they're coming from Urû' baen." She said in a serious tone. Her voice sounded much more worried than she wanted it to sound. Cal and Mabel quickly realized that Kenna was correct. That meant those dots could be only one thing.

 

Soldiers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading I hope you enjoyed! Leave a comment to let me know what you thought! :)

**Author's Note:**

> SO that's the prologue. Let me know what you think! I literally just reuploaded it from my old account in the middle of my fever- induced epiphany. Thanks so much for reading! :)


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